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More than 400 volunteers ready to beautify Kane

Melanie Clabaugh was amazed last year when nearly 200 volunteers participated in the first KARE For Kane Day to tackle projects to beautify the community.Imagine how she feels now as more than 400 “pre-registered” volunteers are gearing up for the second KARE Day Friday.“Last year’s turnout exceeded our expectations,” Clabaugh said. “This year’s response is overwhelming.”Clabaugh is the executive director of the Kane Area Development Center (KADC), which includes the Chamber of Commerce, the Kane Area Industrial Development Corporation (KAIDC) and the Kane Area Revitalization Enterprise (KARE).She is the co-coordinator of KARE For Kane Day along with Kathleen Prosperi, a Kane resident who is an AmeriCorps worker at Kane Area High School.The army of volunteers will be working from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday on more than 50 projects to spruce up the community. The volunteers include many school children who have been given time off classes to take part in KARE For Kane.Clabaugh, who is leaving her job as the KADC director at the end of next week to work with a family business, said the list of projects includes “a lot of painting.” Plans call for the painting of dugouts at the Little League baseball fields and the fences for the tennis courts at Evergreen Park.Some of the other projects include litter pickup at Evergreen Park, landscaping at the Lutheran Home at Kane and the cleaning of storefronts on vacant buildings in Uptown Kane.Area organizations and businesses have stepped to the plate to donate goods and services for the KARE For Kane Day.Clabaugh said some of the “sponsors and partners” include ARG Resources, CNB Bank, the Country Pines Ice Cream Shoppe, CW Hardware, Highlander Energy, It’s Judi’s Place, Jim Airgood Busing, the McKean County Conservation District, the Kane Volunteer Fire Department, the Kane Area School District, the borough of Kane, the Kane Eagles Club, the Kane Garden Club, Kane Liquid Fuels, Kane Lumber and Fuel, Katy Realty, the Kane Rotary Club, the “Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful” program, Peterson Refrigeration, Printing Plus, Richgas, Roma Gardens, Segel & Sons, Save-A-Lot, SMP Pharmacy, Tops Market, W.E. Swanson Insurance, Zook Motors Kane Lawn and Garden, Gary and Pam Karlene, PA Cleanways of McKean County, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Rick and Trudy Powell.See full article by purchasing the May 10 edition of The Kane Republican.